There was a time when our thursdays were spent helping each other with our latest projects. Sadly that is no longer possible. Here are our latest ideas, skills, and affections.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

More on Waistbands

I've been working on a pair of shorts for a company called Houndstooth Menswear -- more on that at some point when I have the time to sit down and really write a post -- but I was forced to revisit the waistband dilemna of a couple months ago. After reading Kathleen Fasanella reasoning for cutting waistbands on the straight of grain instead of the crossgrain, (see below) I was convinced it was worth a try. After the first fitting, it was clear that the waistband - initially almost completely straight, had to be contoured to eliminate the little wing-like things that were happening at the side seam and center back. So now the pattern is on the straight of grain at center back, curving into a slight bias at center front. I'm interested to see how the shorts wash up. I did a shrink test on the fabric, and it shrunk an inch along the grain over 20 inches, and only 1/4 of an inch along the cross grain over 20 inches. Which makes me think keeping the waistband on the straight of grain is a damn good idea.